A systematic air quality assessment study was carried out at Rajapur opencast mine in Jharia Division as per standard guideline. The average concentration of SPM, PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were observed to be in the range of 294 to 965μg/m3, 100 to 498 μg/m3 and 85 to 296 μg/m3 respectively. The SO2 and NOx concentration were in the range of 48.2 to 98.2μg/m3 and 32.8 to 149.39 μg/m3 respectively. The trace metals concentration in PM10, e.g., lead, nickel, arsenic etc. were also analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy technique and were observed to be 0.380 ± 0.009 μg/m3, 0.06 ±0.02 μg/m3, and 0.00432±0.028 μg /m3 respectively. The observed concentrations were then compared with National ambient air quality standard (NAAQS, 2009) and Ambient Air quality Standard for existing as well as new Coal Mines (CMS, 2000). Most of them were found exceeding the statutory norms.
